More details have emerged regarding the disappearance of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to Abu Dhabi.
Rabbi Kogan is an aide to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Duchman, chief rabbi of the UAE. Both men were in Israel until Tuesday, and met with Yossi Shelley, Israel's next ambassador to the UAE.
It is believed that Kogan was attacked by three Uzbeks, who are suspected of having been hired by Iran. The three allegedly followed Kogan from his workplace, the kosher supermarket in Abu Dhabi, and then escaped to Turkey. Kogan's vehicle was found an hour and a half's distance from Dubai.
A source close to the Emirate authorities told Israel's Channel 12 News, "There is a lot of shock and anger after the disappearance of the Chabad emissary Zvi Kogan. It follows several years in which there were no unusual or nationalist security incidents. The government system hopes to bring the solution to the mystery and good news. Senior religious figures, and the government, are working to confirm [the details] of the incident and clarify it."
Earlier Saturday evening, i24NEWS reported that Kogan had failed to attend planned meetings, and after he fell out of contact, his wife turned to the Chabad House's security chief. The security chief turned to the local authorities and Israel was updated of the incident. It was also reported that Kogan's vehicle received a speeding ticket on its way to Oman - but in this instance as well, neither the UAE or than Oman authorities took action. According to the report, Israel is fuming at the Emirates for not responding to suspicious signs or acting in real time, and essentially, the actions that it took were only taken after Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar became involved in the matter.
An Israeli source told Kan 11 that Kogan was kidnapped by "terrorists."
According to Bhol, it is likely that there is footage of the incident, since the UAE has many public cameras. Eyewitnesses said that a few minutes after the start of Shabbat (the Sabbath) on Friday evening, Israeli security and police officers arrived at the home of the Kogan family in Ramat Shlomo, and spoke with his parents.
Mishpacha journalist Yossi Elituv reported that Kogan manages all of the property which belongs to the Jewish communities in the country by courtesy of Chabad, and is married to the niece of slain Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was murdered in the Mumbai massacre 16 years ago, just prior to the annual Chabad-Lubavitch conference for emissaries around the world.
Kogan's older brother, Rabbi Reuven Kogan, is brother-in-law to Rabbi Levi Duchman, head Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Dubai. Rabbi Reuven Kogan manages the organizational and managerial systems of the Jewish communities, and is considered to be a central figure alongside Rabbi Duchman.
Elituv noted that both Kogan brothers were raised in a Lithuanian-haredi family in Jerusalem, and became close to Chabad on their own, becoming central figures in the Jewish community in the UAE. He added, "It seems that there is concern of sharing details which are better known to the local government, in which everything is documented. May we hear about a miracle very soon."
Rabbi Zvi Kogan studied in Lithuanian-haredi yeshivas: As a young teen, he studied in Maoz Hayil, and later he studied in Yeshivat Rabbeinu Haim Ozer in Bnei Brak, before moving to the Mir Yeshiva.
The public is asked to pray for the location and rescue alive of Zvi, the son of Etel.